


The Calm Before the Storm

by cgibs1650



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Episode: s07e11 Shattered (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), F/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:35:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24028255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cgibs1650/pseuds/cgibs1650
Summary: Right after the Siege of Mandalore, Ahsoka is reminiscing about old times and wondering if the Clone Wars is finally coming to an end. After confiding in Rex about her thoughts, they realize their feelings for each other.
Relationships: CT-7567 | Rex/Ahsoka Tano
Comments: 6
Kudos: 113





	The Calm Before the Storm

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't seen Episode 11 of Star Wars the Clone Wars: There are very mild spoilers, but I would still wait to read this until after you watch that episode. This takes place between the Siege of Mandalore and Order 66.

Ahsoka sat on the bed in her quarters, thinking about the events of the day. The Jedi cruiser had just exited the atmosphere of Mandalore. She couldn’t believe that the Clone Wars could finally be drawing to a close. It was something she had dedicated almost all of her 18 years to, and she never thought she would finally see the end of it. And plus, Maul had been captured. Count Dooku had been killed, and Master Obi-Wan was in pursuit of General Grevious. Everything seemed perfect, almost too perfect. She sighed and fell back onto the hard mattress. Although the small room was dark and grey, and the bed wasn’t very soft, she did miss being on a cruiser. There was a small part of her that missed fighting alongside the clones, and laughing with Anakin during battles, and talking to Rex every day…   
Shaking her head, Ahsoka stood back up. She couldn’t go back to the Jedi. But maybe if the war really was over, she could. When they weren’t just soldiers anymore, maybe the Jedi order would be what she used to think it was. But that was just wishful thinking. Thinking about all of it made her head spin, she needed a glass of water. Ahsoka stood up and walked to the sliding door. The hallways were grey, just like her quarters.  
The gray, drab interior of the cafeteria felt large and cavernous when it was empty. In a way, it was haunting. As she sipped her small glass of water, Ahsoka remembered the times that she spent discussing battle plans with Obi-Wan and Anakin, and of course the jokes Anakin would play on his master when they were taking a break after a long fight. Sometimes when Ahsoka had boarded the ship to go to some faraway planet, she would see a familiar face in the crowded cafeteria. Usually it was Barriss, and they would be so excited to have gotten paired up for whatever mission it was. They would eat together, and then beg their masters to let them hang out longer before they had to go back to their quarters. Anakin would usually say yes, but Luminara would object because she and Barriss would have some training exercise to do. Anakin would remind her of the time she was a padawan, and Obi-Wan would make a comment on how much of a handful Anakin used to be. They would dismiss young Ahsoka and Barriss, who would then stay up too late and laugh too loud before eventually calling it a night. She could almost hear Barriss’s laughter echoing off the empty walls of the cafeteria.  
Again, Ahsoka snapped herself out of it. Those were the good times, but that time was past. She didn’t know it was possible for four years ago to feel more like a thousand. She didn’t even know if Barriss was alive or dead. She placed her elbows on the table in front of her and rested her head in her hands.  
“Something wrong, Commander?” came a voice behind her. With a start, Ahsoka turned around to see none other than Rex standing behind her. She plastered a smile on her face, trying to push the previous thoughts out of her mind.  
“No, I’m alright, just a little tired,” said Ahsoka. “And by the way, you’re the commander now, Commander.”  
Rex smirked. “You’re right. I was coming to tell you that we have Maul locked away, there’s no way he’s escaping this time.”  
“Good,” said Ahsoka, nodding and looking off into the distance. “Hey… do you have a minute?”  
“For you? Always,” said Rex, sitting down next to her. “I know that look. Now, what’s troubling you?”  
Ahsoka shook her head. “I don’t know, I’m just thinking about the last 4 years. You know, the Clone Wars and everything. Do you think it’s finally about to end?”  
“It could,” said Rex. “But after that, another war could start up just as easily. All I know is that I’m going to spend the rest of my life fighting. I respect that you wanted to leave that life behind you, it’s not for everyone. I don’t have the choice like you do, but sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have a normal life.”  
“Me too,” said Ahsoka. “I wonder what it would have been like to go to normal school, be with my family…”  
Rex nodded as Ahsoka trailed off. “I know what you mean. But I know everyone missed you when you left the order. If it means anything, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and all of my men thought of you as family.”  
“That definitely means a lot to me,” said Ahsoka. “And hey, you said all of your men, what about you?”   
She smiled teasingly at Rex, and he laughed.  
“You know I missed you, Ahsoka. It wasn’t the same around here after you left,” he said.  
“It wasn’t the same without you guys either,” said Ahsoka. “At least when I was here, I knew I had friends. When I was out in the lower levels of Coruscant, it was really lonely. Well, except for this time not too long ago when I met these two girls. They were a bit obnoxious, but welcoming.”  
“Oh really?” said Rex. “You haven’t told me that one yet.”  
“Well, we all got arrested,” Ahsoka laughed.  
Rex smiled at her amusement. ”How did you get arrested? And why is it funny?”  
“It’s a really long story,” said Ahsoka. She proceeded to tell him the story of how she met Trace and Raffa, and how they were arrested because Raffa had tried to run spice and it went horribly wrong. But, in the end, everything turned out okay for all of them. The whole time, Rex laughed along with Ahsoka and hung on to every word she said. At that point, it felt like they had been talking for hours, but there was never a dull moment.  
“You know,” said Rex after Ahsoka finished the story. “You really do have a kind heart, it’s something I’ve always admired about you.”  
“Thank you,” said Ahsoka. “You’re a good person too, Rex. Don’t doubt that for a second. I think that’s one of the reasons we always got along so well, two kindred spirits in a war-torn world.”  
“I think you’re right,” said Rex. “As usual, of course.”  
Ahsoka rolled her eyes and hit his shoulder playfully.   
“No, really,” Rex said, smiling at her. “I admire you.”  
“I admire you too, Rex,” said Ahsoka.  
She looked over to Rex, who was staring at her. His demeanor was often rigid, but his eyes seemed soft when he looked at her. He was very attractive, and she had always thought so. When she was a Jedi, she never even thought about it because she was so busy with everything. But, after she left the order, she realized how much she missed her friend Rex. Sometimes she would lay awake at night, thinking about him and wondering if he was alright. She would think of all the good times together, and the amount of times they had saved each other’s lives. She smiled at him and placed her hand on his, but snapped out of it soon after. What was she thinking?  
“Hey, I should get back to my quarters,” said Ahsoka. “I think the fatigue from the battle is finally catching up with me, I should get some rest.”  
“Of course. Do you want me to escort you there?” asked Rex.  
“Sure,” said Ahsoka, standing up from the cafeteria benches. Did they just have a moment? She wasn’t sure.  
The pair walked down the hallway until they got to the Jedi’s quarters. There wasn’t anyone else around, as Ahsoka was the only Jedi on the ship.   
“I hope you can get some rest now. And, Ahsoka, don’t worry about a thing, because it will all turn out okay. Now, I better get going, I need to check on my brothers again after that battle,” said Rex.  
Rex turned around to walk away, but before he could, Ahsoka felt the overwhelming urge to stop him.  
“Wait!” she blurted out.  
He turned back around. “Yes?”  
“Before you go, I have one more thing to say,” said Ahsoka as she walked towards him.  
“What is it?” asked Rex, smiling back at her.  
“I just wanted to say, um, well, I was thinking,” she stammered. He stared at her in anticipation.  
Ahsoka looked into his dark eyes and stopped talking. Before either of them even knew what was happening, Rex leaned down and kissed her. He pulled away quickly, and a concerned look spread across his face, while she nervously rubbed one of her lekkus.  
“I’m sorry, Commander,” said Rex, backing away from her. “Permission to slap me has been granted.”  
“No, no, there’s no need,” said Ahsoka.  
“What?” asked Rex.  
Ahsoka smiled and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in closer. She kissed him again, this time more passionately. They both melted into each other’s arms as their lips met again and again.   
“Hey,” Ahsoka said, pulling away after a few seconds. “Maybe we should do this in my quarters, you know, so that no one sees this happening.”  
Rex looked surprised. “Are you sure, Ahsoka? We can stop now if you want to.”  
Ahsoka looked up and him, and caressed his chiseled jawline. She smiled, feeling the happiest she had in a long time. “I’m sure.”  
She pressed a button on the wall panel next to them, and the door to her quarters slid open. Playfully, she grabbed him and pulled him in. They both laughed as the door close behind them and clicked shut.

=========

“I think that was a good idea,” said Ahsoka, resting her head on Rex’s bare chest.  
“Me too,” Rex said, his smile obvious in his voice. He gently rubbed one of her lekkus with his hand, while the other was resting on her back. “Maybe you shouldn’t rejoin the Jedi order so that we can do this more often.”  
She laughed at his teasing, and placed her hand on his chest. “You know what you were saying earlier, about how you never had the choice to live a peaceful life? If the war is over, maybe you will.”  
“You mean like I could leave the 501st?” asked Rex. “Maybe you’re right. Life works in strange ways, who knows what tomorrow will hold.”  
“You’re right,” said Ahsoka. “But for now, I’m really loving what’s in front of me.”  
“Me too,” said Rex as they both smiled. Ahsoka yawned, and closed her eyes. 

Suddenly, a loud “bleep” came from the ship’s intercom system. A clone’s voice came over the system and said: “All units report to your station, we are preparing to make the jump to hyperspace in T-Minus thirty minutes. I repeat, all units report your stations, we are preparing to make the jump to hyperspace in T-Minus thirty minutes.”  
Rex held Ahsoka tighter, eyeing his armor that was on the other side of the room. “I probably have to attend to that.”  
“Or you could just stay here longer,” she joked, kissing his neck.  
Rex sighed, looking down and kissing her again. She smiled as they pulled away and looked into each other’s eyes.   
“Tell you what,” said Rex. “We’ll go and make sure everything runs smoothly with hyperspace, and then we’ll get some dinner at the cafeteria.”  
“And you’ll come back here for a little while?” Ahsoka asked playfully.  
“Whatever you say. After all, you’re the one in charge, Commander,” Rex said with a smirk.  
Ahsoka laughed as Rex got out of the small bed they had been sharing. As he started to put his armor on, he threw her clothes to her. They chatted about things that they would have to do when they got back to the real world, and what they would tell the other clones. After getting fully dressed, they shared one last kiss, and walked out of Ahsoka’s quarters. As they walked through the halls, clones saluted her and Rex nodded to each one. The grey hallways no longer seemed lifeless and empty, but triumphant and full of potential. By the time they had reached the bridge, everything seemed perfect.   
“Maybe things really are getting better,” Ahsoka said, thinking out loud.   
“I think they are too,” said Rex, smiling down at her.


End file.
